Genesis Care, Maidstone

Updated 21 April 2021

Genesis Care Maidstone is operated by Genesis Cancer Care UK Limited. The service opened in November 2015 and is a private service in West Malling, Kent. The service primarily serves the communities of the Maidstone area, but does accept referrals from outside this area.

The service had a registered manager in post, at the time of the inspection there was also an application in to register a new manager, as there was a new centre lead in role. This application was with the CQC registration team.

The service is registered to provide the following regulated activities:

• Treatment of disease, disorder and injury
• Diagnostic and screening procedures
• Family planning

Genesis Care Maidstone is a cancer treatment and wellbeing centre. The centre primarily cares for patients on cancer pathways and offers medical care services, outpatients and diagnostic imaging to adult patients. Diagnostic services the centre offered are mammography, CT and ultrasound. The service also delivers radiotherapy treatments and chemotherapy regimes to patients with cancer diagnoses.

Through the provider’s partnership with a national charity, patients can access complimentary therapies. At the time of inspection “hands-on” therapies such as reflexology and acupuncture were not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic and safety precautions. However, the service was still offering counselling services online.

The service had no overnight beds.

We previously inspected this service in 2019 and it was rated outstanding with no breaches of regulations. We carried out this comprehensive inspection due to patient safety concerns about the provider. We looked at the five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

The main service provided by this centre was cancer care. We have inspected and reported all cancer care services under the CQC Cancer Assessment Framework. The service also provided a some non-cancer care outpatient services which are rated in the Outpatients section of the report. Where our findings on cancer – for example, management arrangements – also apply to outpatient services, we do not repeat the information but cross-refer to the cancer services report.

Updated 21 April 2021

We carried out this comprehensive inspection due to patient safety concerns about the provider. We looked at the five key questions: is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Our rating of this location went down. We rated it as good because:

• The service had enough staff to care for patients and keep them safe. Staff had training in key skills, understood how to protect patients from abuse, and managed safety well. The service controlled infection risks. Staff assessed risks to patients, acted on them and kept good care records. They managed medicines well. The service managed safety incidents well and learned lessons from them.
• Staff provided good care and treatment, gave patients enough to eat and drink, and gave them pain relief when they needed it. Managers monitored the effectiveness of the service and made sure staff were competent. Staff worked well together for the benefit of patients, advised them on how to lead healthier lives, supported them to make decisions about their care, and had access to good information. Key services were contactable seven days a week.
• Staff treated patients with compassion and kindness, respected their privacy and dignity, took account of their individual needs, and helped them understand their conditions. They provided emotional support to patients, families and carers.
• The service planned care to meet the needs of local people, took account of patients’ individual needs, and made it easy for people to give feedback. People could access the service when they needed it and did not have to wait too long for treatment.
• Leaders ran services well using reliable information systems and supported staff to develop their skills. Staff understood the service’s values, and how to apply them in their work. Most staff felt respected, supported and valued. They were focused on the needs of patients receiving care. Staff were clear about their roles and accountabilities.

Updated 21 April 2021

The main service provided at the centre is care for patients with cancer. As this is such a complex pathway we have included all information about the cancer pathway in the medical care report in line with the latest CQC cancer care framework. This means we have included information about medical care, outpatients and diagnostic imaging in this report. Where there are findings specific to each area this has been stated. Where a finding was consistent across all three areas we have referred to “the centre” as a whole.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

Updated 17 July 2019

Diagnostic imaging services were a smaller proportion of the main activity of the service. The main service was outpatients. There were joint staffing and medical cover arrangements with outpatients and medical care services. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the outpatients’ section.

We rated this service as outstanding because it was safe, caring, responsive and well-led. We did not rate effective as we do not currently collate sufficient evidence to make a judgement.

There were comprehensive systems to keep services safe. Staff complied with mandatory training, including safeguarding. The service had a sustained track record of safety. The areas we inspected were visibly clean and tidy with effective infection control measures. The service encouraged innovation to improve safety, and proactively managed risk.

The service used a holistic approach to assessing patient’s care and treatment and made sure that patients were central to how care was delivered, and staff supported patients to live healthier lives through health promotion. The service made sure the continuing development of staff’s skills, competence and knowledge with comprehensive training and supervision.

Staff worked collaboratively to deliver joined-up care for patients. Patient feedback about the care they received was continually positive. Staff demonstrated a strong patient-centred culture, and respected patients’ dignity and privacy. Staff recognised the emotional and psychological needs of patients, and made sure relatives and carers were active partners in patient care.

The service made sure that care was centred on the individual patient and tailored to meet their needs.

Patients told us they felt involved with treatment decisions and provided care in a timely fashion. There was a range of specialist services to support patients including dietetics.

The service made sure that complaints were investigated comprehensively and shared learning with other services (including the partner NHS trust) where safe.

Leaders were approachable, effective and had high levels of experience. Staff were positive about working for the clinic and there were high levels of staff satisfaction. Leaders encouraged staff to develop both personally and professionally. Through monthly team meetings, the service made sure that staff had the wider organisational knowledge to do their jobs. There was strong team-working and staff engagement throughout the organisation that aimed to improve the quality of care and patient expectations. The service engaged with patients that allowed the development of innovative services, especially in the provision of psychological support to patients.

Updated 21 April 2021

Outpatients was a very small proportion of centre activity, for this report only outpatient activity that was not related to cancer care pathways is described. For information about outpatient care as part of the main cancer pathway see the medical care report. The main service was cancer care, as reported under medical care. Where arrangements were the same, we have reported findings in the medical care section.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, responsive and well led. We do not rate effective in outpatients and could not rate caring as there were no patients in the outpatient department who were on non-cancer pathways.